Possible Windows 7 support for ARMs?

[CyruzDraxs]

Just a few things that I feel need to be said:

1.) Windows 7 can boot and operate normally in classic mode on 128MB of RAM if you disable a few services that are unimportant for netbook uses.
2.) About a year and a half ago Microsoft had several jobs open for "Binary Translation Engineers". It's likely these were for their Virtual PC virtualization system, but I'm fairly certain they have the resources to build a reasonably efficient binary translation system, making recompliation unnecessary.
3.) The netbook market is approaching 1/3 of all laptop sales and Microsoft is on the losing end in terms of battery life, ease of use and cost. Linux will only continue to grow in this sector because of the poor condition of the economy and the high cost of Microsoft's licensing fees. Either Windows needs to get cheaper or the hardware needs to get cheaper, otherwise OEMs won't be able to afford to stay in business. Microsoft knows this, so they have to do something to re-establish their value to OEMs. The most logical way to do this is to expand hardware support to include the cheaper, lower-cost ARM hardware.

Microsoft is definitely planning something--whether it's ARM support for Windows 7 or just a beefed up Windows Mobile for it's 7th release has yet to be seen.

 

[darkblu]

yay! my long-time dream of running windows on a handheld without having to suppress urges to kill puppies is coming to reality! and with translated binaries compiled for 30-year old architectures? - count me in! i'll be finally able to switch to masm6.0 for all my on-the-go development! *dexter 'yesss!' + didi clap*

oh, man, as a free bonus i'll be able to run all those 1GB-hungy windows apps on my pandora! awesome!

*fires up norton antivirus v 3.5e23 in excitement*

 

[javaJake]

it doesn't matter. windows 7 would have to be something amazing to even start to consider it for the pandora.

And vice-versa.

 

[musicalwoods]

I have a feeling that if Windows 7 was ported to ARM, it would have a complete rebranding to avoid any confusion with the X86 version, and would most likely carry the xbox or Zune moniker. It would be centered around an "App Store" and "Music Store" and would cater to music, gaming, and internet browsing. Oh, and almost definitely vendor lock-in.

 

[lulzfish]

Well, since it couldn't run any Windows/86 programs, there wouldn't be any reason to really call it Windows.
It would just have a similar GUI and API.

And considering the success of the Zune, I suspect any sort of Windows / ARM would probably be part of an "Xbox Mobile" scheme.

 

[Kyosys]

i think microsoft is a greedy monopoly that will do everything to imprison you on your own device.

oh about that arm port ... the reactos arm port might be a more realistic option if you really want the windows api without any programs to run.

for that you could also just use wine


confirmed: wine runs on pandora

I guess it would be for somebody who wants to write... a windows program... for the pandora? Yeah, I got nuffin'

 

[pelrun]

confirmed: wine runs on pandora

Hey! Don't say stuff like that - uneducated people might think you actually mean it, and we'll *never* stem the tide of "why can't I play Halo?" posts...

 

[truekaiser]

told you it was a bad idea to talk to microsoft.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=15148

 

[lulzfish]

"The bit about providing internet access, but not needing a mobile phone network says something about how Microsoft plans to offer web access on the device. *wild speculation about Wimax, etc.*"

Just brainstorming here, maybe it'll use... 802.11 Wi-Fi?

"One interesting aspect of the device is that it will supposedly allow users to buy a movie or game on the mobile device or on the Xbox and watch it on either device, as they want. The handheld is also said to use the New Xbox Experience graphical interface."

Wow, Microsoft is making a DRM-laden device that will let you watch movies on multiple devices.
And it will have a GUI too. I can tell the Pandora devs are just shaking in fear at this proposition.

 

[Kyosys]

the only advantage I could see from this are MS apps like IE and windows office. But we have great alternatives to those. They'd have to come up with something better.